CoronaVinyl Day 151 ('90s Debut): Breaking Atoms by Main Source

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is '90s debut album, and I only have one '90s debut album at the moment, so that made the choice quite easy.  It's Breaking Atoms, the 1991 debut from hip hop group Main Source.  I got this when I was in the Vinyl Me, Please record club, and as you can see, my version has a very cool clear vinyl with an orange splat, and the labels on both sides of the record have what look like chemistry formulas.

Main Source was comprised of two Toronto-based DJs/producers, Sir Scratch and K-Cut, and Queens-based MC/producer Large Professor.  While they weren't together for that long, the one album they made together was a good one.  Breaking Atoms is just fucking smooth and easy to listen to, like a Tribe Called Quest album.  The album wasn't a huge commercial success, as it didn't chart on the Billboard album charts or contain any singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, though "Looking at the Front Door" did top the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart, and "Just Hangin Out" reached #11 on that chart.  However, the album is critically acclaimed and considered very influential in the hip hop genre because of various then-cutting edge production techniques and inventive use of sampling.  Also, the song "Live at the Barbeque" is noteworthy for being the first time legendary hip hop artist Nas was featured on a recording (Akinyele -- known for his 1996 song "Put It In Your Mouth" -- also appeared on that song).

If you're not familiar with Main Source or this album, it may be because the album went out of print in the U.S. in 1997 after the album's record label went out of business.  It wasn't until 2008 that the album was reissued.  My Vinyl Me, Please version was released in 2016.

The group technically broke up after Breaking Atoms, although Sir Scratch and K-Cut recruited The Real Mikey D and recorded another album using the Main Source name -- the subtly titled Fuck What You Think, which was set to be released in 1994, but then shelved by the record company because the group disbanded.  It was eventually released on CD in 1998.

Meanwhile, Large Professor went on to be a mentor to and collaborator with Nas, and he has produced albums and/or songs for a ton of great hip hop acts, like Nas, Eric B. & Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest, Akinyele, Big Daddy Kane, and Busta Rhymes, among others.  K-Cut has also gone on to be a successful producer, producing albums and/or songs for Big Pun, Fu-Schnickens (who are one of my favorite '90s hip hop groups), Queen Latifah, and Shaquille O'Neal (including "What's Up Doc? (Can We Rock)," the 1993 collaboration between Fu-Schnickens and Shaq), among others.

The Spotify version of Breaking Atoms has a bonus version of "Just a Friendly Game of Baseball."

Favorite song from Side 1:  "Large Professor"

This one showcases Large Professor's rapping and rhyming skills, and it has some sampled loops that give it a nice, head-bobbing feel.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "Watch Roger Do His Thing"
This song is about a guy named Roger, who, rather than getting sucked into drug dealing or gang lifestyle in his "ghetto," graduates from high school, gets a regular job and is teased for it because he could make more money selling crack.  But he isn't deterred, and he works his way up and has great success.